jueves, 25 de febrero de 2016

In class preparation done by the students (not corrected by Mr Handley) for the Of Mice and Men Exam

CROOKS

1. Most relevant scenes

When crooks meets with George and Lennie. Page 56, line 25.

Crooks feels tempted to join the dream and does. Page 86, lines 21-22-30.

Crooks talks with Lennie and he tells him he can’t do anything because of the fact that

he is black, and the only place that he can be in his personal bunkhouse. Page 77, line

Curley’s wife puts Crooks “in his place” by telling him that she could be canned Page

George’s reaction in regards to Crooks joining the dream is enough to make Crooks

quit the dream. Page 94, lines 6-7-9-10-11.

2. Impressions

3. Possible questions

Is Crooks bullyied?

CANDY

Candy's dog dies

Pages: 50-54 (Carlson convinces Candy to kill the dog)

   55-56 (Carlson kills the dog)

Carlson want to kill the dog because he says that is old and stinky. Carlson suggests

that they kill the dog by shooting it right back of the head so it doesn't suffered.

Candy has a special place in his heart for the dog, because he has been caring for the

dog since it was a pup.

"I'm so used to him, he said softly, I had him from a pup." - Page 51, first paragraph

"He's all stiff with rheumatism. He ain't no good to you, Candy. And he ain't no good to

himself. Why'n't you shoot him, Candy?" - Page 50, third paragraph

Stands up for Crooks

Pages: 88-90

Find CW

Pages: 105 (finds the body)

   106-107 (tells George)

   108 (blames CW for ruining their dream)

Wants to be part of George and Lennie's dream

Pages: 66-67


Possible questions: Is the death of the dog related with death of Lennie?


Lennie

- Most relevant scenes

- Impressions

- Possible questions?

 When he kills Curley´s wife (P.103).

 Talk with Croocks about his dream. Lennie accept Croocks (P. 75-87).

 Frist seen Curley´s wife (P.34-36).

 George kills Lennie (P.112-121)

 When he smashed Curley´s hand (P. 70-75).

 What happened in his head and how he feels inside (Clara and the big rabbit)

at the end (P.113-115).

 A large, lumbering, childlike migrant worker. Due to his mild mental

disability, Lennie completely depends upon George, his friend and

traveling companion, for guidance and protection. The two men share a

vision of a farm that they will own together, a vision that Lennie believes

in wholeheartedly. Gentle and kind, Lennie nevertheless does not

understand his own strength. His love of petting soft things, such as

small animals, dresses, and people’s hair, leads to disaster.

o Where does Lennie go and why when he got scared of what happened at the

barn?

o What thought Lennie about Curley´s wife?

o What happened between Curley and Lennie in chapter 3?

o What felt Lennie after killing Curley´s wife?


Curley’s wife 

1. Relevant scenes

- When with Lennie

- Lennie kills her

- When she flirt with Slim

- When Curley is looking for his wife

2. Pages

- Page 34-36 (when she plays with Slim)

- Page 86-92 (when she was in Crooks house)

- Page 96-103 (Curley’s wife dies)

3. Impression

- Curley’s wife is lonely

- She doesn’t really loves Curley

- She has a frustrated future

- She wants someone to talk with

4. Possible questions in the exam

- Is Curley’s wife treated badly in the book?

- What do you think the book achieves by not saying Curley’s wife name.

- Is the impression given by Curley’s wife at the start of the book improved in the

end of the book?

George:

Most relevant scenes:
-          When they move to the new ranch after the dress incident (Page 16 – Page 18)
-          When he kills Lennie (Page 120)
-          When he confesses to Slim about what he has done to Lennie
-          When Lennie breaks Curley´s hand, he is telling Lennie to do it
-          When he convince the boss about contracting Lennie, with that he helps Lennie
Impressions: George is a coward because he kills Lennie for the pleasure of the other people. He is also the one who tell Lennie what he has to do.
Possible questions:
Do you think George is like the father of Lennie?
Is George an important person for Lennie?
Is George a bad influence in the ranch?

Slim:

- There was gravity in his manner and a quiet so profound that all talk stopped when he 

spoke. His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics 

or love. 

This quote tells me how much authority slim had above everyone. He doesn’t need to 

raise his voice to make everyone stop their conversation and pay him attention.

-  His hands, large and lean, were as delicate in their action as those of a temple dancer. 

This tells me how excellent Slim was at his job, although he had huge hands, he does 

really good his job, the author explain it by using a simile.

- “It wasn’t nothing,” said Slim. “I would of had to drowned most of ‘em anyways. No 

need to thank me about that.” George said, “It wasn’t much to you, maybe, but it was 

a hell of a lot to him. Jesus Christ, I don’t know how we’re gonna get him to sleep in 

here.



The quote “it was nothing” tells me how Slim character is very king, willing to help 

anyone, with nothing in return. George and Slim had just known each other, and Slim 

have already helped him.

Slim is a character which transmit a lot of confident, inside the workers, he’s the one 

that seem to control each worker and know what to do each situation. He’s a very 

responsible worker and really good at his job.

scenes

Slim always haves the last say, when Curley’s hand was crushed by Lennie he decided what to 

do about Curley not telling his father, the boss. If not he will say Curley is a very fragile person.

Slim decided to Kill the dog

And Slim was the one that told the final decision about Lennie being killed.



Curly

 When Curly smashes his hand into smithereens

 The way that curly looks at Lennie when they have a conversations says a lot of Curly’s   

attitude, jealously and angrily talk about Lennie.

 “Curly looked threateningly about the room” p.60

 P.26/27 /28/29 many phrases that describe his character towards Lennie and his 

character in general 

 In page 60, we see many examples of curly looking for his wife this starts the opinion 

of infidelity around the other workers and the reader.

1. Mean

2. Insecure

3. Bully

4. Confrontational

5. Mean spirited

6. Aggressive

7. Jealous

8. Possessive

  -His glance was at once calculating and pugnacious-

1. Is Curly a jealous man?

2. Does Curly show affection towards his wife?

3. Is Curly respected in the barn?

martes, 23 de febrero de 2016

Preparation for Of Mice and Men exam to do in class on 24/02

In the exam you will have the choice between 3 questions on 3 different characters. These characters could be George, Lennie, Slim, Curley, Curley's wife, Candy or Crooks. Complete the following task to help you prepare.


For each character you need several quotes (about 6) which show:

1.Their influence in the novel and how they are used by Steinbeck to express  his message/ themes/
ideas such as loneliness, friendship, fragility of dreams, corruption of power, social structure, racism,
gender discrimination, rejection, economic context of the 1930s, etc. (Use PEE)
2.Different aspects of their personality (Use PEE)
3.Their relationships with other characters (Use PEE)

Use this link to learn good personality adjectives specific to Of Mice and Men.

lunes, 22 de febrero de 2016

Literary Essay: Of Mice and Men


What is a Literary Essay?
• discussion and analysis of the main ideas/characters in the novel
• You must use quotes to support your ideas “…”
• DO NOT describe what happens

• You need to understand the main characters and the main themes of the novel


Point Evidence Explain (PEE)

Point make a point about a character or theme in relation to the question.

Evidence = back up what you say with proof from the text. Find a quotation and write it down in speech marks.

Explain = show how your quotation justifies your point. Pick out individual words from the quote which are particularly effective at demonstrating your point.

Point

Give an answer, explaining the part of the aspect of the character you are describing and your idea (make sure it is relevant to the question)
Sentence starters:
In my opinion/ I think that …/ Firstly/ At the beginning of the novel/ However, the character changes when… / Not only … /Despite the fact that …/ Despite the lack of … / While …
Expressions: 
due to/ especially as/ which (eventually) leads to/ which means that/ not only …. but it is also/ a central issue or character is/ Certainly, this is a main theme in the novel/Certainly, this character is central to the plot because …

Evidence
Try to integrate the quotation – remember it can also be only one word! Use a comma before the quotation and remember to use quotation marks!
e.g.   This is shown in the quote, “…”
  This is suggested with the quote, “…”
  This is implied with the quote, “…”
  When Steinbeck writes, “…”

Explain
This is the difficult part – analysing the quotation and making it relevant to the original question. Begin with a basic analysis:

In this quotation…
From this quotation…
The description of … gives an impression/idea about …
This quotation suggests/shows/reveals the/how/why …
We can infer from this quotation just how ….
This line reveals the …
Considering the context, this could link to ...
However, perhaps this indicates ...
Additionally this could be interpreted as ...
This writer uses the word which is important because …
This implies .../ This suggests .../ This shows .../This reveals
However, on the other hand it might suggest that …
Alternatively, this could be interpreted as a sign of …

Essay Structure
1.A brief description (the person reading your essay has read the book!) of the
character in the novel and answer the question
2.Answer the question about the character on his/her own, independent of the other
characters or themes
3.Answer the question in relation to other characters
4.Answer the question related to the themes/messages of the novel
5.Conclusion
Is George is coward?
1.Introduction (4/5 sentences)  a summary of the role of this character in
the novel and a clear focus on the question and your answer
2.In what way is George a coward or not on an individual level? (Use PEE)
3.In what way is George a coward or not in relation to other characters? (Use
PEE)
4.In what way is George a coward or not within the wider context of the novel
related to the themes/messages illustrated? (Use PEE)
5.Conclusion

viernes, 19 de febrero de 2016

Poetry Exam on Tuesday 23/02

THE POETRY EXAM

You will speak uninterrupted for around 4 minutes.
You will not be allowed any notes.
You must have a solid idea of the poems.
You will not have seen the image before sitting down.
You will have 2 minutes to look at the image, think of the emotions and make some planning
notes before you start.
You will be expected to talk about at least 2 poems.
Rememberyou are speculating! As long as you justify your link (with good explanation) then
you can really say anything you want about any of the poems) Within reason!

Example: Lack of Freedom in each Poem

Out of the Blue – the fact that he does not have a choice in what happenedThe fact he
is trapped by the fire.

Quickdraw – perhaps the cause of the arguments or the fact that they can
be reached by two phones means no escape, no freedom

The Manhunt – the man is no longer free. He has returned from Warbut he is forever 
hangedThe wife (the speaker) has also lost her freedom – she feels under pressure.

The River God – the ultimate force of nature and how this can take away the freedom of
humans – the woman who had been swimming in the river was killed by the river.



lunes, 15 de febrero de 2016

viernes, 5 de febrero de 2016

Poetry analysis table

Out of the Blue
The Manhunt
Quickdraw
What happens? 3 bullet points
Type of conflict?
3 examples of “stand-out” imagery
Favourite line – why?
Speaker’s emotions in the poem? Prove this with a quote